Revival
by ThunderScythe
Summary: Shadowmaru finds a chip on the beach and discovers that he may not have lost Kagerou as he had thought he had. With the 'help' of Shinjo, will he be able to get his older brother back or will people rip them apart from each other again?
1. Chapter 1

The setting sun cast an orange tint onto the flowing waters of the sea, it's bright gaze overlooking the whole coast and beyond. The tides lapped at the sandy beach as gulls cawed softly and glided through the breeze. All seemed calm and peaceful and Shadowmaru found the perfect picture that the world gave him something to look forward to at the end of the day. Especially this one when he had almost died while out on the field. It had been a very odd and stressful day but looking out at the sea and it's gentle rhythm could make him fall into recharge just by being there.

A growling sound crashed the gentle lull of his systems and he looked down onto the beach where a dog was chewing on a wayward fish, the poor creature still flopping around and trying to find its way back to the water in the canine's jaws. Shadowmaru looked on in mild curiosity as the dog ran around with it and threw it up in the air a couple times just for fun.

The ninja watched as the dog threw the fish down in the sand and playfully lowered it's front in readiness, as if the fish was going to flop in challenge for the dog to snatch up again. When it didn't, the dog barked at it and rolled around in the sand. The fish had given up life now and had just sat there, jagged scars lining its body from where the dog's teeth had cut into it's form.

Shadowmaru decided to give the poor fish a relief and carefully walked over, shooing the dog away. The dog beat a hasty retreat at the sight of the large mech but Shadowmaru ignored that when something golden and technological shined from inside the fish's internals. His optics widened in recognition and his lips parted in a small gasp.

Carefully extracting the device from the fish, Shadowmaru dropped down his eyepiece and scanned it, sighing regretfully when the scans came back negative. The chip was too waterlogged and had short circuited long ago…all the informations lost.

"Oh Kagerou…I always wish you never left…" He whispered.

The roar of an engine caught his attention and he stood up, looking towards the sky. An orange shape circled around before changing and landing in the land, green optics shimmering at him with mirth.

"Hey Shadowmaru!" Drill Boy grinned, "What are you doing out here? It's getting really dark out and we need to head back to the station." It was then he noticed the fish at the mech's feet and he laughed, pointing to it. "Shadowmaru if you just wanted to express your dog form you could've just visited boss' sisters! They have lots of fish!"

Shadowmaru frowned and hid away the chip into a storage compartment before folding his arms across his chest. "First off Drill Boy I am a wolf and second of all I was not eating that fish…some other dog was."

Drill Boy nodded, "Ah I see. And where is this other dog?"

"He ran off."

"Mmhm. Well let's head back so that 'other dog'" Here he quoted the air dramatically making the purple mech scowl, "Can finish his meal. I'm sure you'd like to refuel with something more fulfilling like gas?"

"I'd like for you to stop hounding me, Drill Boy. I can find my own way back when I feel like it." Shadowmaru then jumped up and changed into his jet form before rocketing off."

"Hey!" Drill Boy ran a few steps before shaking his fist at the retreating mech, "You can't run forever!"

When Shadowmaru was out of sight, Drill Boy scoffed and looked to the now slowly rising moon. Sighing, he looked down at the fish and angrily kicked it back into the water, "Keh!"

Shadowmaru flew until he couldn't see the city anymore, moving down and changing into his canine form to land in a collection of trees in a rural area, looking around carefully before laying down tiredly. As much as he hated to admit it, Drill Boy was right. His tanks were getting low and he could feel it- the sluggish movements and the slower processing of his super A.I.

He perked up when something caught his olfactory sensors, getting to his feet and slowly moving towards the smell. Teasing his muzzle through some bushes, he took a deeper whiff and his tanks churned when he smelled gas.

Peering through the bushes he spotted a small building with some gas cans stacked along it's side near a beat down truck. Optics glazing over in hunger, he moved forward to snag a can when he froze, whistling filling his audios.

An old man came out from the building, a small towel thrown over his shoulder as he walked over to his truck and clicked the door open, rummaging through for something before slamming the door shut and heading back inside his abode. The ninja had dimmed his optics to prevent from being seen in the darkness of the night and once the man had gone away, he slunk forward and carefully padded up to the stack of fuel and snagged a can in between his jaws before darting away. He wouldn't think the man would mind contributing a bit to the Brave Police force.

As Shadowmaru refueled himself while sitting on a stump, he thought over what he could do. He could have Toudou look over the chip and maybe, just maybe, be able to get the information off it or he could do it himself. He shook his head; there was no traces left of the mech he once knew on that chip and he knew it. It would be a waste of time to do either of those and it would made him look like a fool.

The gas can emptied out and he shut his tank, bringing the little can up to his face for an inspection. He knew he could do something, but what? What could he do? The chip was useless to him- packed full of useless information of some _human_- what a minute…

He sat up and brightened his optics, ideas striking him. Of course! Looking up as his optics dimmed, information scrolled by them as he hacked into the satellites, Excellent Company's welcome screen flashing across his vision before he bypassed their securities easily and moved into the more restricted files.

If Shinjo was as smart of a man as he displayed himself to be then he should have a back up copy of Kagerou's entire line of data buried deep into his file still based off the Submarine Abyss Project. It was only a matter of time before he found the man's file and then it was searching through the multitude of files upon folders until he finally found what he was looking for.

Then he paused. He had to be very careful with this file. If something were to happen to it then Kagerou would be _truly_ gone forever. And he couldn't live through losing the mech again. Creating a copy of the file he attempted to hack into it but he was restricted and no amount of his hacking skills would allow him passed. He growled as he cut himself out of the system.

There was only one thing left to do then…

Throwing the gas can to the ground he stomped on it angrily as he got to his feet before jumping up and taking off in his jet form.


	2. Chapter 2

The second Shadowmaru walked in to the Deckerd room, all optics focused in on him. He didn't look at them, just headed over to get himself a proper fueling and then a full rest before he set out on his mission.

"Ah, look who finally came back." Dumpson teased, smiling from his desk.

"Yeah he only came crawling back for fuel." Power Joe snickered.

"Should be lucky he was able to survive the night," Drill Boy piped in, leaning his head against his knuckle, staring at the purple mech. "You didn't have last night's refueling either. You should be collapsed somewhere."

"Shadowmaru can take care of himself. You three leave him be." Deckerd said as he looked to them, the three construction mechs tipping her helms away towards the floor.

Shadowmaru smiled, "Thank you, Deckerd." Deckerd only smiled at him and nodded.

Yuuta leaned over his desk and pouted, "Shadowmaru try not to have us worry so much. I could hardly sleep last night wondering where you were."

The purple mech sighed softly, "I apologize, Little Boss, I just wanted some time to myself. These past few hours have been life changing."

The young boy perked up and smiled wide, "You're new Brave Cannon mode is super awesome! It makes you the biggest mech we have! And the strongest!"

Duke chuckled, "Not even Fire J-Decker can stand up to that kind of firepower."

Shadowmaru ran a hand over his helm, "It startled me, I'll give it that. I thought I was surely done with."

"Either way we're glad to still have you around, Shadowmaru." Deckerd said, "You're a valuable asset to this team, even if you don't think so."

Gunmax knocked on his desk with his fist, smirking, "Certainly gives me someone to pass the time with. Everyone else here is out of control."

"Hey! Who you calling out of control?" Power Joe called form across the room, glaring.

"You're the one out of control!" Drill Boy yelled back, shaking his fist.

"Quiet, you two." McCrane sighed, rubbing at his temples.

Shadowmaru chuckled and snagged an extra can of fuel when the others weren't looking. He would need it for later.

"If you don't mind I think I'll take a good long recharge before assisting any of you." The ninja said, shifting into his canine form and heading for his little place in the desk.

That was something the others could all agree on and they nodded, "You've certainly earned it, Shadowmaru." Deckerd said, smiling.

Shadowmaru was fortunate to say the least. Just before he reached the island prison, it exploded violently in two places and he watched from under the water as a speed boat and two helicopters fled away, voices ringing out and gun fire clipping the water. The purple mech took it upon himself to sneak in while the guards were busy and head towards the cells, using his selective abilities to temporarily disable the cameras and run through unnoticed.

The prisoners' cells had been released and them ordered to head to the emergency boats for relocation. Shadowmaru hid himself in the shadows of the hallway until he saw who he was looking for and snatched him up after the group of men ran passed.

"Unhand me you good for nothing machine!" He growled, even throwing his book that he had at him.

Shadowmaru simply swatted the book away. "Please." He said softly, "If you help me with this then no one will bother you ever again, especially me." It was painful to beg but he was desperate enough at the moment.

The man tapped his fingers against the mech's hand in contemplation. "You look familiar…" he murmured before realization hit his features. "You're that mech that sabotaged my sub…"

"You have a back up copy of Kagerou's mind stored in your file in Excellent Co.'s databanks. I want- I need it."

The man chuckled darkly, "Why should I help you? You'll just hand me back over to your friends and then I'll be stuck here again."

Shadowmaru shook his head, "No. You have my word. I will do whatever you wish of me as long as you do this one favor for me. So I can have Kagerou again…"

"Shinjo Ken!" A guard called out from down the hall, the two looking over in surprise. "Shinjo!"

An opportunity dawned Light glinted off the man's glasses as he smirked, looking back at Shadowmaru. "Anything, eh?"

A news reporter standing on the beaches closest to the island prison stood staring at a camera, droning a report. "Just four hours ago the island prison that held all of the criminal masterminds that the Brave Police force has captured had a terrible accident."

The reporter turned to the side so the camera could get a better view of the smoke billowing out from the distant structure. "As you can see the fire has already been put out. Two attacks to the docking bays holding the boats and subs were held and a prisoner has managed to escape."

A police photo of the man flashed on screen as the reporter righted their self. "A man named Victim O'Rand was last seen by the police chapters heading west towards the nearby town. Another prisoner by the name of Shinjo Ken," The police photo changed to suit the correct man, "Has mysteriously vanished during the attacks. It is assumed that he either ran off separately with Victim or was lost to the attack. If anyone has seen these two criminals, contact us immediately at-"

McCrane frowned and cut off the feed from the television, sighing. Two very dangerous and intelligent masterminds of the A.I. programming just up and vanished…it sounded like they were going to have their hands full soon.

"This doesn't look good." Power Joe sighed, basically pouting as he twirled one of his tonfa around.

"Fire J-Decker might not be enough this time…" Deckerd whispered, staring down at the table.

"We can't have a situation like that again!" Dumpson cried, clawing at his helm, "It was too much!"

"Max Cannon Mode was useless against their shields." Gunmax scoffed, sounding offended. "We need better firepower."

Duke suddenly smiled and held his hand up, "We can ask for assistance."

Deckerd lifted his head up at the words, Gunmax smirking in their direction as the Build Team stared with mixed expressions.

"…Who?" Drill Boy asked, tilting his head to the side in thought.

Shinjo Ken was a man of supreme intellect for the day and age that they were in, having developed A.I. and many other advanced forms of tech that no other man could ever even dream of processing. He thought to himself was he was at least a bit more respected as a person but apparently Shadowmaru didn't apply human rules to himself as he flew at high speeds through the air with the man clinging to his form for dear life.

The pale man paled even more when they suddenly dipped down and cleared a line of trees, branches assaulting his face causing him to duck his head down into the purple mech's form to protect himself.

Shadowmaru leveled himself out when they were only a few feet from the ground and hovered, waiting for the man to stop shaking. Finally he did a barrel roll when the man loosened his hold enough and made him fall to the ground, Shinjo grunting and immediately going into a coughing fit.

Shifting, Shadowmaru stood by the mech and sighed, watching him; he would've felt bad for dropping him like that if he actually liked him, which he did not. He waited a bit impatiently for Shinjo to finally collect himself and stand on shaky feet, looking around before finally noticing the large shadow encasing him before turning around.

"W-where are we?" he demanded, correcting his glasses.

Shadowmaru didn't reply, just turning around and pausing a moment before turning back around, a bagged suit in hand. He casually tossed it down and Shinjo had to take a few steps to catch it, inspecting the military grey color an frowning in disapproval.

"Where did you get this from?" He asked, looking back up at the mech.

"You ask a lot of questions." Shadowmaru huffed, folding his arms across his chest. "I borrowed it from a friend." He might have visited the commissioner's house before heading to the prison. "Put it on. We can't have you walking around in prison garb."

Shinjo thought hard as he stared at the compressed bag before looking back up at the mech, inspecting his form with his eyes. "…Where is your storage compartment at?"

Shadowmaru flushed briefly and looked away slightly. "J-Just put it on!" He pointed to some thick looking bushes by a tree before turning his back on the man. "And don't even think of running away. My scanners will be on you."

"Comforting." Shinjo muttered, still wondering where the mech's compartment was and feeling extremely uncomfortable as he slowly shuffled towards the bushes, hiding himself behind them as he changed quickly.

This was not what he was exactly expecting when he had agreed to this.


	3. Chapter 3

"Not exactly what I was expecting from you but it'll work." Shadowmaru mused as he looked the man up and down.

Shinjo scowled and shoved the suit jacket closer together; even in it's tightest button it was still too big on him. Saejima was just too bulky of a man compared to Shinjo. He was just lucky the pants weren't falling.

"After I do this for you, you'll do whatever I say?" Shinjo asked, looking up at the mech.

Shadowmaru shook his head in negative. "I'll get you whatever you want but after that one time that's it. You're getting something important for me so I'll get something important for you. That's how it's going to happen."

Fair enough rules even though Shinjo wasn't completely happy with them. "What if I don't know what I want yet?"

The purple ninja knelt down and offered a piece of paper to him. "Then you can contact me on this line."

Shinjo snatched it away and looked at it for a moment before nodding and pocketing it. "Alright. Once I decide I'll let you know."

Shadowmaru nodded, "Good. Now, let's get that information. The Excellent Company's building is right through these trees here." He pointed out and the human turned around to get a better view. "We'll sneak in the backdoor and head through the halls towards the lab."

"Why can't I just use my clearance to get us in?"

"You were in jail." Shadowmaru frowned, "And now you're missing. If you use your code they'll know you're here and then there will be sentries everywhere. I can't risk that." He grabbed the man around the middle before bursting through the tree line, Shinjo crying out in surprise before shutting his trap.

It was easy enough to go around the mech sentries and to hack into the control panel next to the door, Shadowmaru having to crouch down and tuck his wings in to squeeze through the door. He had copied the schematics of the building so he knew where to go so it was only a matter of moments before they reached the top secret clearance for the even more top secret work and development modules of robot manufacturing.

Wide screens and computer terminals covered the walls and after the door closed, Shadowmaru then let the man down, allowing him to stumble over and lean against a nearby control panel, going through another coughing fit. Shadowmaru sighed; this man could not take the excitement well it seemed.

After gasping for breath, Shinjo walked over to a specific panel and started typing. Shadowmaru loomed over him a bit too close for the man's comfort and stared at what he was typing in, copying it and reading it over and making sure it was right. Shinjo was a smart man so he knew better than to try and outsmart a machine. Especially one with deadly weapons and a grudge against him for taking his prototype.

"There." Shinjo said, "I'm in. The passcode's bypassed so get what you want and let's go."

Shadowmaru promptly shoved him out of the way and produced an A.I. chip, one he borrowed from the Brave Police's back storage room. He was sure that they wouldn't miss it any. Of course he made sure it was in the top most working condition before taking it; he wasn't a fool.

Slipping the chip into the terminal, his hands flurried across the boards, making Shinjo's frantic typing look like a child's version of smacking the keyboard. It was only a matter of seconds before the information was processed over and the chip slid back out, Shadowmaru making a pleased sound before storing it back from where ever it came from.

Shadowmaru was immensely pleased when the information looked like it still had everything and he had promptly moved it onto the chip, making sure the chip was safely back in his compartment before sneaking in a nice little virus for the computer's databases. Excellent Company will be in quite a pickle when they realize they can't build super robots to throw at the Brave Police anymore.

Shinjo opened his mouth when he realized what Shadowmaru had done but before he could speak, the alarms blared to life and they both looked up in panic.

"We have to get out of here!" Shinjo squealed, grabbing at his hair.

Shadowmaru huffed and shifted into his canine form, grabbing Shinjo by the back of his suit jacket before tromping off down the hall. It was easier for him to move in this form and watching Shinjo bounce around all curled up like a pup was just too amusing for the mech. They burst through the backdoors and mech sentries were waiting for them.

Shadowmaru promptly turned and jumped onto the roof of the building before tossing Shinjo up and shifting into his mini jet form, Shinjo screaming before he landed roughly on the mech's top and clinging to it as he heard the thrusters power up. The mech shot off as one of the sentries firepower grazed his underside and if he could wince in his jet form, he would have.

They flew for a while, Shinjo relaxing faintly when Shadowmaru slowed down after crossing the city line. The man dared to take a quick peek around their surroundings before asking over the winds, "Where are we going?"

When Shadowmaru didn't answer, he just huffed and pressed his head against the mech's armour. It was probably about a good half hour later, after having flown over the waters for a while, did Shadowmaru slow down even more and drop low, changing and catching the mech with both hands and smirking down at him.

It was then that Shinjo noticed that they were at an isolated and abandoned island far away from any form of civilization. It would probably be a few miles of a swim for Shinjo to get to the closest island with people on it and he frowned up at the mech.

"What's the meaning of this?" He demanded.

Shadowmaru chucked and deposited the man onto the shore. "Can't have you wandering off on your own now. Be a good human and stay right here until I come back for you. There's plenty of fish around and some of the trees are fruit bearing. I'll be back in a day or so."

"What?" Shinjo tried to grab the mech but Shadowmaru had easily moved out of his reach. "You can't leave me here!"

"Yes I can," the ninja claimed, "Easily. Watch me." Shifting back into his jet form, he rocketed off back the way he came.

Shinjo held up his arms to protect himself from the wind and sand that picked up before looking around and falling back onto his backside. "Well, shit…"

When Shadowmaru got back to the station it was just touching the night, the moon gleaming off his frame as he changed from his canine form into his mech form. He had to stop a few times to refuel and to help an old lady get her cat out of a tree. Plus some kids were throwing rocks at him and he had to chase them off.

He was tired and excited; he was so close to getting Kagerou back he could almost feel it! All he had to do was sneak in while they were all asleep or recharging and he could take Kagerou's body from where they had been storing it away and put in the A.I. chip and everything would be back to normal!

Walking into the Deckerd Room, he stopped as he noticed everyone was surrounding the main monitor. What was going on? Walking in, he stood next to McCrane, curiously looking at the mech.

"What's going on, McCrane?" He asked, the blue mech looking to him.

"We're getting an incoming call from somewhere," he replied, the mech folding his arms. "We had just returned from patrol so we couldn't settle in yet."

"I see." he murmured before the screen finally fizzled into an image and Victim's visage calmly stared back at them, a bandage wrapped haphazardly over a small portion of his head and over an eye.

"Greetings," he cooed, a bit too placidly, "I have something of yours."


	4. Chapter 4

That night had been rough on him. Shadowmaru had felt odd being in that suitcase and even worse when he went for that chieftain like an over active Drill Boy with too much gas. He had almost destroyed the A.I. chip holding Kagerou and he felt like he had almost lost the world.

Victim has escaped but he wasn't really worried about that; the others would seek him out soon enough. What he was really focused on was Kagerou. A sharp pain stabbed him in the side of the helm and he frowned, rubbing at it gingerly. Maybe that blast last night knocked something loose?

He could barely remember what he and Gunmax had been talking about shortly after but that didn't matter when he soon found himself flying over the mountains behind everyone, a round military building being ruthlessly attacked by numbers black chieftains.

Collecting himself quickly for battle, he set out their weak points to everyone before they swooped in, standing vigilantly in front of the building. It was a small, seemingly too easy, fight before the real challenge came forth.

A white robot, claiming himself to be Victim appeared and attacked J-Decker. It was a strange and epic battle and when J-Decker fell Shadowmaru felt a part of him clench up. However it only got stranger from there.

The lines of chieftain were hard enough to deal with but with Victim summoning _something_ was forcing him to divide his attention and it was costing him as much as it was costing the others.

When it was all said and done they were in need of serious repair but victorious. Shadowmaru was just grateful that it was over so he could continue to bring back Kagerou. As they were returning home he pondered on how he could make it all work.

They would be up all day and night getting repairs and then after they would be down for some much needed rest. Shadowmaru felt elation hit him as he knew he could work while everyone was resting. They would wake up to Kagerou being alive again and all would be good in his heart.

He paused as they entered the station, thinking more as they all moved towards the repair ward. He remembered Toudou's words he remembered what they were going to do to his prototype…clean him of his information and station him somewhere else…Shadowmaru couldn't allow that.

As he waited with the others for their turn at being repaired he made up his mind that he could not and would not reveal Kagerou's rebirth to the crew. It was just too risky for both of them and he had gone through too much already to fail now.

He was caught at a dead end as he didn't know where he could hide away Kagerou. Perhaps on one of those deserted isles that he had dropped Shinjo at? No, Kagerou wouldn't have a supply of gas to keep him online but the mech would probably like the solitude and the lack of talking insentient machines. He hummed in thought. Perhaps he could find some woodland area far away from the towns and cities that were closer…

Gunmax sighed as he dropped himself down next to the purple mech, offering a can of gas to him. "So," he mused, "Have any plans after you get repaired?"

Ah, idle chit chat, Shadowmaru thought, the mech must be bored. "I have things that need to be done, yes." he responded but didn't go into further detail.

Gunmax chuckled and took a swig of his gas, "You and be both." his visor glinted as he slightly turned his head so he could focus his attention on a dozing Drill Boy, the mech's helm resting against McCrane's shoulder. "I have something that needs to be done." he chuckled and Shadowmaru silently prided himself for being able to catch the hint and shifted awkwardly.

"That's, hmm…very nice Gunmax but I would be a bit hesitant if I were you. You may never know who's looking out for him." he cautioned just as Power Joe looked over and glared daggers at Gunmax, the yellow mech shifting closer to the orange mech protectively.

Gunmax only laughed and waved his hand, "Makes it all the more interesting, yeah?" he nudged the purple mech and the ninja shifted again, a bit uncomfortable. "So you got more than one in mind…who are they?"

Shadowmaru stiffened and he turned his full attention to the green and white mech. "I wasn't referring to _that_ when I said I had things to do." he said, voice taut.

"Sure, sure." Gunmax waved off the mech's rising anger, "But hey if you ever change your mind, baby." he purred and grinned before rising and strutting over to a bench closer to where Deckerd was getting repaired, the blue mech only able to move his head slightly to smile warmly down at his partner.

Shadowmaru frowned deeply before focusing his attention to the can of gas in his hand. With a grunt he casually switched it with Dumpson's before sipping it until it was gone. The red mech was none the wiser and when he started to get a little tippy from his gas Shadowmaru took his leave to the office area, opting to get some rest in before his time for repairs. With the others in front of him it would be a while and he needed that while to think and prepare for the night.

With everyone sleeping their injuries away and fully repaired and refueled, Shadowmaru waited until the last of the humans were gone before creeping into the medical wing where the storage bays were connected to. They had kept Kagerou's body fully functional and operative and he was thankful for that. The only thing that was missing was the A.I. and he had it safely in his compartment. But first he had to get the body out without setting off the alarms.

It was an easy feat really, the humans not thinking that someone of Shadowmaru's abilities would ever consider hacking in to take a shell but the ninja knew still to be careful; he couldn't be slacking now and he definitely could not be caught red handed.

He listened out with keen audios for footsteps or silent alarms as he disconnected the cables attached to the mech and gingerly picked him up, sighing as he looked over his frame. Kagerou's face looked so serene and he knew there was no trace of evil in the mech; maybe a little naive and moody but never evil. He knew this and the others knew this but the reports were the ones to blame. It reminded him to be watchful of Azuma, the man was a very hateful person towards them.

He knew he couldn't awaken the blue mech in here in fear of him causing a ruckus, so he headed to the roof, knowing that the materials of the building muffled sound and they were high enough up that humans would have to squint to even see them in the night.

He had copied the system of the news and police helicopters and knew he had plenty of time to work but he also knew that he shouldn't waste time or hurry. Wisely, he unarmed the mech and set the weapons off to the side. No need for accidental injuries, he mused as he gently laid the mech down and moved around to his helm.

His breath hitched and he stilled, pausing as he studied Kagerou's body laying beside him. He could only imagine what the mech was thinking being cooped into his storage for days and then before being cooped into a computer for months. He hoped the mech hadn't gone stir crazy. He also hoped that the information would work properly, fearing that Kagerou would glitch.

Shaking himself and rebooting his optics, he gathered his courage and opened the mech's helm gingerly, accessing the panel where the A.I. chip would slide into. The empty slot made his heart burn and ache and he quickly obtained the chip from his compartment, shaky fingers studying it over for any damage before he forced himself to still his nerves and slid the chip home.

He had just enough time to attach the mech's helm back on when optics flashed online. Shadowmaru gasped and before he could even open his mouth to speak he was tackled to the ground and hard fingers grasped his neck and _squeezed_.

"I will not become your slave." Kagerou croaked, vocals unused in so long but his optics burning with rage. "Will not…"

Shadowmaru gagged and grabbed at the mech's arms, shocked into unable to defend himself. "K-Kagerou!" He managed, "S-Stop!"

"I will not be caged and forced by you humans to be your toy!" Kagerou's optics flared but it was then Shadowmaru realized the mech was still in his memories, seeing the purple mech as Shinjo.

His tubing strained and he could feel one threatening to burst and Shadowmaru knew he had to take action or be destroyed by his own. He forced himself to roll and took the mech with him, grabbing up at Kagerou's neck but instead pressed hard into pressure points, causing the mech to shrill and his arms to weaken.

Shadowmaru gasped for cooling air before speaking. "Kagerou…it's me, Shadowmaru. Open your optics and see past your anger." he begged and waited and even rubbed at the mech's face until Kagerou slacked completely, his form drooping on top of him.

The purple mech felt a since of familiarity and dread and stiffened, instantly taking his hands back. He sat up and held the mech in his arms, looking his face over and seeing with fear lacing his optics as Kagerou had gone offline.

"No, no, please." he whispered, shaking slightly. "Kagerou…Kagerou!" He knew the mech's systems were working fine and he had filled the mech's tanks to the brim…what could have gone wrong? The A.I. chip…had the A.I. chip short circuited because Kagerou was too crazed? Was it because he hadn't put the chip in right away and it dulled? Shadowmaru panicked that he had failed and clutched the other mech tight to his chassis, fluid starting to leak from his frame.

"Kagerou I'm so sorry…I have failed you yet again…I…I…"

Optics dimmed online and Shadowmaru was too busy blabbering his failures to even realize until a hand grasped his chin and made him look at the blue mech's face. Shadowmaru stared with wide leaking optics as Kagerou studied the mech's visage, optics a calming tone that made the purple mech relax only slightly.

It was a moment of the two staring at each other's face until Kagerou released him and furrowed his optics in confusion. "…Shadowmaru?"

Clinging to the mech was the only thing he could do to keep from sobbing his heart out to the sky.


End file.
